Dear COVID-19, It seems only yesterday you came into my life. You have been here for a couple of months now, and while our relationship is still new, I feel as though I am beginning to get to know you. You have changed my life. Of course, COVID-19, it is tempting to treat this letter […]
Counter-culturalism
Counter-cultural challenges to the modern church and to society in general
Surviving Valentine’s Day
Ugh. Not another Valentine’s Day. The Day when all romance is celebrating in a seemingly never-ending stream of chocolates, red roses and plush teddies holding cute little love hearts. Makes me wanna barf. (And I am its target demographic. Go figure.) And it is not just the rampant commercialism. Sure, I hate the overflow of […]
Why Following Jesus is Like Op Shopping
So I was at the shops today. You know the kind. Spacious, awe-inspiring, expensive-looking shops with big white glossy floor tiles and shiny metal doorframes. The kind of shops where you have to meet dress code just to enter. I walked into one such flashy store this morning, blinking in the fluorescent lights, my ears […]
Self-Partnered?
We have come a long way from the term “spinster”. Emma Watson’s recent self-description of herself as self-partnered,* instead of the more commonplace “single”, has garnered much social media attention. And so it should. Whether or not you like the term self-partnered (and it is not my favourite term – it honestly sounds like a […]
A Response to the Christian “Man Drought”
A week ago, the ABC ran an article about the man drought apparent in Christian circles.* It was a good article. It touched on many truths of contemporary Christian singledom. It took me back to my own single days in my late twenties, when I too lost hope of ever marrying. In particular, three truths […]
Here’s to the Ones Who Dream
The first time I heard the heart-wrenching ballad, “Here’s to the ones who dream” from the movie La La Land, I cried. I didn’t cry because of the acting. Although it was good. I didn’t cry because of how the ballad displayed the character’s resilience in a story of apparent failure. Although it definitely did […]
When Illness Kills Your Carpe Diem
Chronic illness sucks. Some days are not too bad, and it just sits quietly in the wings, biding its time. Then there are days like I had last week, when it kicks your legs out from under you. I was sitting at an appointment. It was a long sit. Three hours, to be exact. The […]
Problems of Perpetual Singledom
A single thirtysomething friend recently told me about their increasing sense of isolation. “All the people I used to hang out with, five years ago, are now married,” she lamented. “I no longer have any friends.” Apparently, when some people get married, they no longer hang out with their single friends. Something shifts in our […]
Why Perfectionism and Chronic Illness Don’t Mix
I am a born perfectionist. I grew up with the work-hard, follow-the-rules, be-a-good-Christian-girl mentality. I walk into a room and spot the dirt. I hear when a singer is singing flat. I notice spelling mistakes in books. I am not looking for these things, but they are the first things I see. Perfectionism is based […]
Resigned
I am really looking forward to the next Koorong book signing. I meet the most interesting people at book signings. They tell me their stories and we have a laugh. Sometimes we shed a tear for the saddest stories. Every now and again, someone tells me a story that sticks in my mind. At my […]